Pirates Shore
by TempestJo
Summary: A mummy is found on Cocoas Island, Brennan, Booth and the crew head off to go unravel the mystery behind it and search for remnants of treasure!
1. Chapter 1

Brennan burst through the door, running up the stairs as fast as she could. Her fingers fumbled with the keys she'd almost returned, shoving them into the lock and turning it, throwing open the door with a bang.

"Booth!"

There was a groan from the bedroom, and she kicked the door shut and ran down the hall to his room.

"Booth, Booth! You'll never guess!" She cried as she flew into his room and jumped onto the bed, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him awake.

He blinked up at her and smiled. "Bones."

" Of course I'm Bones." She looked at him and frowned, sniffing the air. "Are you drunk? Why are you drunk? Sober up Booth, it's five AM!"

"I'm not drunk." Booth smiled, his eyes taking in her flushed appearance, and the fact that she was straddling him on the bed, only a thin layer of blankets between them, her hands on his shoulders.

Brennan sniffed again, "It smells like you are."

Booth sighed. "It was a long night."

Brennan shrugged and hit him on the shoulders again. "Guess what? Oh never mind, you'll never guess, we;ve got a case, and it's a pirate case and a big case, as big as the Rico one you passed up for your brother, and we've got to leave right NOW!" She said in a rush.

His hands grabbed her wrists and held them. "What are you talking about?"

"Now, Booth, we've got to leave NOW!" She tried to climb off him, but he smoothly flipped over, pinning her beneath him.

"Talk." He demanded.

"The case!" She repeated, her mind focused on how good it felt to be underneath him.

"What case?"

"The new one."

He shook his head. "My phone never rang."

"I know." Brennan nodded, "I tried to phone you but it didn't go through."

"I have plans this weekend." Booth shook his head slightly.

Brennan stared at him open mouthed. "But it's a case, we have to go, it's huge." She repeated.

"Go where?"

"Cocoas island."

"Treasure Island?"

"No, the real one! They've found remains, and they think they are American, which means, WE are going to a summer paradise to examine PIRATES!" Brennan smiled.

Booth narrowed his eyes. "Why are you so excited about Pirates?"

Brennan's grin grew... "The remains are MUMMIFIED!"

Booth stared down at her. "Bones, I can't.. I shouldn't.. I have plans with Hannah, and I really shouldn't break them."

Brennan frowned. "She'll understand, it's work!"

Booth stared down into the eyes just inches below his, the dark hair spread over his pillow, and the warm body underneath his. Just work... It wasn't going to fly.

"Bones." His voice dropped. How should he say this?

"Booth." She sighed breathlessly, on a groan. Was he really going to turn down the case of a lifetime?

His head dipped, to rest on her forehead. "Shit." He whispered. The sound of his name leaving her lips like that had his brain stalled for a minute.

"Oh Booth, please?" She begged urgently. "I need you!"

He chuckled softly. "Say it again."

Brennan smiled. "Please Booth?" She cooed, trying to use the feminine whiles Angela was always telling her about.

He groaned. She was practically begging him. Dr. Temperance Brennan, underneath him, and begging him, to run off to an island paradise.. In a different context it would have been a dream come true.. If so much hadn't happened in that last eight months.

Brennan groaned again, an edge of frustration creeping into the sound.

"Seeley?"

He froze, his head shot up, and he turned it to see Hannah, standing in the doorway, a shocked look on her face. "Is this why I couldn't spend the night Seeley? Because you had plans?" She backed away slowly.

"Hannah, it's not what it looks like." He started to sit up and then stopped, remembering to late that he was not only in a compromising position, but also nude.

Her eyes widened. "I think it looks, exactly as it sounded.."

Booth was silent, unable to roll off Brennan, and unable to explain, as he thought back over the conversation and how it would have sounded to someone else.

Brennan stared up at him, aware of his predicament, and of the heat in her own cheeks. For the first time in her life words failed her.

"I was just coming to say that I have to go on assignment." Hannah shook her head lamely. "But um, I think this is goodbye Seeley."

He nodded, and turned his eyes back to Brennan, his ears listening to Hannah walk down the hallway and out of his life.

They stared at each other silently for a moment, till he shifted again, and the bed squeeked.

"Booth." She whispered.

His head slumped down onto her shoulder. " I'm coming."

Brennan's face lit up. "YES!"

Ch2

"Bones." Booth sighed. "Can you pass me the water please?"

"I told you you were drunk." Brennan noted, passing him another bottle of water.

"I wasn't drunk." Booth glared at her. "I was drunk the night before."

"hmm." Brennan nodded distractedly, writing out her list of equipment she would need.

Booth pressed the cool bottle of water to his forehead. He hadn't still been drunk. Though it would have explained the series of actions which led to his journalist girlfriend dumping him because she believed he had turned down her offer of spending the night to spend it in the arms of the woman he once loved.

The woman he still loved, his mind and body both jeered at him, before making his head thud again.

Hodgins came running into the room. "I just heard, I'm ready to go!"

Brennan looked up with a smile. "And Angela?"

"Wouldn't miss this for the world!" Angela breezed into the room. "Fun in the sun, oh my!"

Booth glowered at them and their chirpiness.

"Whoa, Agent Studly, whats with you?" Angela raised an eyebrow.

"Booth's girlfriend walked in on us having a discussion in bed this morning and assumed I was naked as well and broke up with him." Brennan murmured. "And he's hungover."

Silence fell over the room.

"She wasn't." Booth muttered. "Naked, I mean."

"Who wasn't?" Angela smiled.

"Hannah. Or Bones. Either. Nobody was naked." Booth held his head.

"Well," Brennan corrected him. "You were."

Booth glared at her. "I sleep naked, ok?"

Hodgins chuckled and Angela clamped her lips shut with a smirk.

Brennan shrugged. "That's excellent Booth, it's said to be best for your reproductive organs anyways."

"My organs work just fine thank you!" Booth grimaced.

"Yes." Brennan stood up and walked out of the room. "I noticed."

Ch3

Booth stared out grudgingly at the sea, bright blue, and stretching as far as the eye could see, fading off into the distance like the end of the world.

It wasn't the sleeping in tents that bothered him, he was okay with that, and the tiny little island didn't really have any hotels to speak of, even if he wasn't.

It wasn't the case, as once it had been fully explained, the importance of it became clear. This big for her career, and if they solved it, it could be big for his as well. Not, as she had assumed, as big as the rico case. But big enough to get congratulated by the president, which always looked good on the files.

What was bothering him wasn't even the fact that his girlfriend had dumped him after walking in on him and Bones in a compromising position.

It was that Bones had been there at all.

In his bed.

Never before had she run in like that, or jumped on the bed, or begged him to take a case.

Yes, she loved mummies, he remembered the squeal fest with Daisy he'd overheard, the whole lab had overheard.

It just seemed...

He couldn't put his finger on it.

She'd tried to hug Caroline.

She'd told Angela she loved her like a sister.

She'd refrained from forming a relationship or bond while in Maluku, had not even had the inclination, though he'd heard through Daisy that there had been a few attractive eligible suitors there, hoping to win her attention.

He'd laughed with everyone else as Daisy and Brennan described their battery of the armed guerrillas, Brennan demonstrating how she'd fluffed her hair and batted her eyelashes and then disposed of them like yesterday's trash.

He would have thought she didn't know how to bat her eyelashes.

She'd certainly never batted them at him.

But the jumping on the bed thing...

The not fighting to get out from under him...

He shook his head ruefully and stood up from where he sat on the beach, his toes dipped in the warm water.

What the hell was going on with that?

CH4

Brennan smiled and wiped her hands on her pants happily. Her tent was spic and span and set up just the way she liked it, with a cot bed and a small bedside table in one corner, and in the middle of the room a large desk to write her findings on at night.

She was hoping to have lots of findings.

Not just about the pirate mummies, which were fascinating and exciting, but also her own findings, about her personal interactions with those around her.

On the plane as she left for Maluku, she had vowed to make changes, to be that person that Booth deserved. She had started immediately, observing the other females of the team and their interactions with each other and the opposite sex.

She was able to practise on those guerrillas for a few brief moments, but assumed by Daisy's over reaction to her own actions, that she was not as smooth as the other girls had been.

She had vowed to practise on Booth, but his news was a setback she had not anticipated.

She had almost thrown in the towel, but her proclamation of sisterly love to Angela had brought her more joy than she had anticipated it would, and Angela's announcement of her pregnancy, before even telling Hodgins, had confirmed a successful result.

SHE had been the first to know of the new arrival, she was trusted, and her feelings were reciprocated, her actions had not been rebuffed.

A warm glow infused her at the memory.

This was good.

She was changing.

She COULD change.

When she heard of the case, she knew it was the perfect opportunity. The island would be closed to all visitors and journalists for the duration of the excavation and examination of the remains and site. Aside from the few locals, the Jeffersonian team would be totally isolated. She would have Booth to herself, make a play for him, as it was called.

The excitement of the challenge had sent her running to him, even as he lay in his bed, and results had been more than she could have hoped for.

She pulled back the curtain that was a door and stepped out into the sunlight.

_Bones was back! _

She smiled to herself_... Baby!_

CH5

The cave was dark.

Faintly misty.

And had a smell of burnished metal, damp sand, and bird droppings.

Brennan switched on her flashlight and plunged in, deeper into the darkness. This was the area where the treasure reputedly had been.

Hodgins would no doubt have the entire place carefully combed and sifted for any remaining artifacts.

She hoped that he would find at least something, because it would make this trip for him, and she knew that although she had requested him and Angela to be there, it was unlikely that they would be needing many particulates identified, depending on what was left of the clothing.

She reached the crevice at the back of the cave and paused briefly. While the rest of the cave was open to the beach, though hidden behind a rock wall of sorts, this crevice led to a hidden cavern. From this point on, she would be very much out of reach of the others, sleeping in their tents nearby.

She couldn't sleep, her excitement about the mummy she had yet to see, and the first stage of her plan going to effect the next morning, had robbed her of any exhaustion she might have felt after a long day. Only this morning she had burst into Booth's room, and here they were, on an island paradise.

She smiled.

He would have added, "or it would be, if there weren't dead people."

She shone her light around the cave one last time and then stepped into the crevice, walking the twisted path carefully, but quickly, her lab coat brushing the rock on either side of her. It was narrow. Very narrow.

After thirty paces, the crevice turned left, and suddenly, she was in a room as big as the Jeffersonian lab. Stalagmites and stalactites formed decorative areas throughout, and reflected her flashlights beams, bouncing off each other, filling the entire space with a dim light.

Brennan stood very still, taking it in.

A wonderful sight.

The mummy was located to the right, she remembered from her briefing, and she slowly turned to look, her mouth dropping open in surprise. At the far end of the cavern, on a stone that looked oddly like a chair, sat a hunched figure.

It didn't move when she played her light over it, and she was able to see why. The hands that rested by it's side were little more than bones, held together still be the tendons.

This was the mummy.

She walked closer, keeping aware of her surroundings, moving faster as she saw what kind of condition the mummy was in.

"Wonderful!" She gasped.

The clothes remained, fairly intact, preserved and stained by adipocere. The head still rested on the shoulders, though slumped to one side, resting against the rock wall, the hair still attached and cascading over the shoulders. The skull stared out at her, the adipocere had formed a sort of death mask, though it had slipped, and empty sockets stared out at the room, sightless. A sword rested by it's side, and she was sure, attached to his hip, she would find a revolver.

Brennan wanted to jump up and down, but feared the motion would disrupt the precarious stance of the mummy, so she retreated. Best to wait until there were others, they would need to support the mummy with a framework in order to move it, or even study it closer.

But what a wonderful specimen!

With a last glance around the cavern, Brennan returned to the crevice, the cave, and the beach. She stared out at the moon on the waves, and felt peace.

Now, she would sleep.

CH6

Booth had to smile.

Six AM, and not only were all the squintz bright eyed and chipper, they were lined up at the entrance to the cave, eager to begin work.

At the head of the line was Brennan, who was waving to him madly.

"BOOTH! BOOTH come HERE!" She waved excitedly and jumped a little.

He paused and raised an eyebrow.

Did Bones really just jump?

Must be a really good mummy..

He smiled and jogged over. "Whats up Bones?"

"You must see this mummy Booth, it's fantastic!" She beamed at him, turning to lead him into the cave.

"Bones." Booth stood still. "Arn't you forgetting something?"

She blinked at him. "Like what?"

He pointed at her bare legs. "Pants?"

She smiled. "It's far too hot in the cavern to wear clothing Booth, the heat, lack of oxygen, and the humidity is why the mummy is so well preserved." Her smile grew. "I'm pnly wearing the lab coat to keep the moisture from body getting onto the remains."

She looked around blankly as someone went into a coughing fit.

"Well really." She said to the coughing Angela. "I'm wearing a bathing suit underneath!"

She shook her head and turned back to Booth, ignoring his slack jawed appearance, and gestured to the cave. "Are you coming?"

She led the way into the cave, Booth close behind her. "The crevice is quite narrow, it might be a tight fit for you Booth." She said over her shoulder, her flashlight beam lighting up the crack in the cave's wall. "I went in last night and made it through quite easily."

"Wow." Booth held out an arm, catching hers. "You came in here last night? Alone?"

"Of course Booth." Brennan frowned, "It's not a very romantic place to arrange a rendezvous, though the pirate has the same type of hair as that actor did in that movie, the good looking one, I assure you he's quite dead.."

Booth shook his head. "That's not what I meant. It might have been dangerous!"

Brennan raised her eyebrow. "The pirate is really, QUITE dead Booth."

"Bones..." Booth sighed. "Next time, please, can you let me come? OR at least tell someone where you are going?"

"I'm perfectly capable of.."

"Excuse me." Angela called out. "Did you say the pirate looks like Johnny Depp?" She pushed ahead of Hodgins and started pushing Brennan and Booth towards the crevice. "You guys can argue this out later ok, because if the pirate looks like Johnny Depp, then THIS I've GOT to see!"

CH7

As they turned into the dark crevice, Booth's mind was in turmoil.

A tight fit, she'd said.

Knowing what she wasn't wearing under that lab coat was making everything a bit tight...

His mind flashed images of what he might see should she take off the coat through his brain at a rapid speed, followed by his conscience chiding him in a dry voice for daring to picture his partner in a bathing suit, when just a few days before he'd been professing his love for another woman to anyone who would listen.

The lack of emptiness in his heart gave truth to the lie, he'd never loved Hannah. He'd enjoyed her, and what she offered, but she had been a balm to the wounds he'd imagined Brennan had placed on his heart.. She'd left. She'd not called, or emailed, or even sent a letter.

How was he to know that she hadn't contacted anyone?

He'd felt like a heel as soon as he'd known, but was too far into the story of Hannah to back out then.. And then horror of horrors, Hannah had arrived in Washington.. He hadn't felt bad enough to not enjoy her a few times more, it was nice to be wanted, and Brennan seemed more than happy to see him in the arms of another woman.. Except for that comment in the diner, about having imagined them together.. His brain had completely shut down, repeating her words.. If Sweets hadn't been there, he would have..

"He would have what?" The voice jeered. "Swept her off her feet? Please..."

He sighed a little, reaching a hand out to press against the rock wall to help twist his body around a corner.

His conscience was right.. He couldn't have done anything. His big mouth and need to soothe his own ego had dug him a hole so deep he'd wondered if he would ever get out.

If he hadn't gone back to the bar... He'd had his drink with Bones, and Hannah had arrived, wanting dinner out.. He'd felt bad about leaving Bones there, whats theirs was theirs, but he had promised Hannah dinner out that night and... He'd escorted her to the car and told her to wait a minute, he'd forgotten something in the bar, and gone back to apologize to Bones..

He'd stopped just inside the door, unable to go on, when in the slanted mirror over the bar, he'd seen the look on her face, and the way she'd ran her finger over her cheek, wiping away a single tear. He'd made her cry.. In a public place, he'd made her cry..

The next thing he'd known, he was at the restaurant with Hannah, downing drink after drink, in an effort to hide the pain, pretend everything was alright..

But it wasn't.

He'd sent Hannah home alone, he couldn't do it anymore, not when he knew that Bones cared, and besides he was probably too drunk to perform anyways.

And then he'd woken, to Bones jumping on the bed..

His cheeks flushed as he remembered the way she'd looked, even to an aching head she'd been beautiful and sexy..

"Booth, are you alright? You look flushed." She said, pressing close to him and touching his forehead with the back of her hand, checking his temperature.

He blinked.

They were now in a large cavern, and Hodgins and Angela were looking at him curiously.. He could hear Cam and Wendell coming through the crevice behind him.

"I'm fine." He replied.. "It was just a bit warm in there, and a few places I had to hold my breath..Tight fit." He mumbled.

Brennan nodded, and turned around waving with a flourish towards the slumped figure of the pirate.

"There he is! Our reason for being here!"

Hodgins and Cam hurried over, exclamations of awe and excitement filling the air.

Wendell paused beside him, drawing in a deep breath of air. "God, that last corner, I thought for sure I wasn't going to fit." He said clearly, with a slight wink at Booth.

Booth nodded slightly, in thanks.

Saved by a squint, again.

Wendell was a good guy, he was going to have to buy him a beer when they got home.

"Boy," said Cam sweetly. "You guys must have broader shoulders than I thought."

Booth froze as Brennan whipped her head around to stare at them.

"Broader..." She muttered.."Crap! What if we can't get the mummy out!"


	2. Chapter 2

CH8

"Nah, it's ok Dr. B, he'll fit, once we shift him just a little.." Hodgins called from where he was stooped over the mummy with a gleeful look on his voice.

"Don't touch it!" Brennan gasped, her feet flying over the slightly uneven stone ground to the mummy. "Don't touch the mummy!"

Booth took a deep breath, feeling faintly light headed.

What was wrong with him today?

He looked around, he wouldn't be needed examining the mummy, he'd probably get shooed away even if he tried. The Cavern was quite large, his time would be better used exploring it. Maybe there was another way out...

Brennan looked up and noticed Booth wandering away.

Her plan didn't appear to be working.

She had turned into him as they came out of the crevice, had pressed up against him, and even touched his face with her hand, all things she had noted to have an effect on men, but he hadn't seemed to notice.

She bit her lip thoughtfully.

Perhaps the touch was meant to be done with the fingers or palm, and not the back of the hand.

She would have to try again.

He was not immune to her, his astonished look when he learned what she was wearing under her lab coat had not hid the slight flaring of his nostrils, or the dilation of his eyes, both of which indicated sexual arousal, or at least interest.

Very promising.

She could worth with promising.

Perhaps her methods, were too discrete?

She stood up and brushed her hands on the sides of her lab coat, and walked towards Booth. Angela was busy photographing and sketching the mummy in situ, with Cam and Wendell helping, and Hodgins was taking samples of the rock, soil, and air composition. They would be fine without her for a few minutes.

"Booth." She called softly, hurrying after him.

He paused and turned to face her, his hands in his pockets. "Yeah?"

"Wait up." She smiled softly, reaching for his arm as she drew close to him, sliding her arm through his so their arms were linked, and she pressed into him softly. "Have you found another exit? I presume that is what you are looking for."

He looked startled at her close contact with him, but recovered quickly, even pulling his other hand out of his pocket to pat her hand gently. "Got it in one, Bones." They began walking again, stopping to look closer at uneven sections of wall.

"This cavern is quite impressive." Brennan commented.

"Very." Booth agreed, nodding his head.

They reached the end of the cavern and turned back, along the opposite wall.

"You know," Booth mused, "If I was a pirate, I'd have buried my treasure in a secret chamber in a cavern like this."

Brennan nodded. "Most pirate legends involve leaving men behind to guard the treasure, if that is in fact true, I would assume that our pirate is.."

Booth grabbed her hand suddenly, and looked down at her, a huge smile on his face. "Behind the mummy!"

Brennan grinned, and nodded.

"Oh," Booth shook his head smugly, "Wait till Hodgins hears THIS!"

CH

Brennan leaned over the mummy again, speaking to the group assembled behind her.

"The formation of this mummy is odd in that it greatly resembles that of the Bog Men, I can only assume at this point that when the cave was sealed the oxygen supply was cut off, turning this area into something like a dehumidifier, sucking the moisture out of the remains faster than they could decay, although the clothes did insulate the torso a bit, which is why they have more adipocere. I suspect most of the torso will be skeletal."

Cam frowned. "So the extremities are all mummified, but not the torso?"

Brennan wiggled her fingers in a `sort-of` gesture. "I will have to examine the remains closer, this climate is hot enough to have mummified the remains in the style of common Egyptian mummies, if it had been buried in the sand, and kept away from the salt air, but the internal organs being left..." Her voice trailed off as she continued her examination.

"I'm confused." Booth whispered. "What happened to the dead guy?"

"She doesn't know yet." Cam whispered back.

"Yes I do." Brennan said loudly. "He was killed by lack of oxygen."

"Suffocation?" Wendell edged nearer to the corpse.

"Asphyxiation." Brennan stated, standing up straight and turning to face them.

"Caused by the oxygen supply to the Cave being cut off." Cam nodded understandingly.

"Yes, although I suspect drug and alcohol use may also have contributed to cause of death." Brennan smiled happily.

"Drug use?" Hodgins gaped at her.

Brennan pointed. "I suspect that the vial around the neck holds some kind of poision, but it appears to still be sealed, however the bottle which you will notice laying next to the remains probably held Rum, a favourite of pirates I understand, and I have seen a container such as the one in the right pocket before, I believe it was made to hold either a form of opiate, but as we are here and America is closest, I suspect it will bear traces of cocaine."

"Of COURSE!" Hodgins grinned. "I will test for it right away!"

"Er, how did the cave get unsealed?" Booth interjected, looking warily around the cavern.

"I have no idea." Brennan frowned. "Perhaps an external examination of the site will reveal that, let's go look!"

"Dr. Brennan." Cam said quickly. "What about the mummy?"

"Yes, you're right, we'll have to get the mummy out first." Brennan strode over to the package Hodgins had brought in, and pulled out a coil of strong wire, pausing to look down at the form of Angela, resting on the ground as she sketched the corpse in situ. "Ready Ange?"

Angela nodded briefly, before adding some finishing touches and standing up. "I'll finish outside, if that's alright? It's getting hot in here." She swiftly turned into the crevice and disappeared from sight.

Booth edged towards the crevice as well. "I'm going to go look around outside." He muttered to no one in particular and made his escape, twisting and turning until he could smell the salty air and felt a slight breeze on his face.

Brennan was acting very... odd..

He needed to sit down and think.

CH.

Getting the mummy out had been a tedious job, and had taken longer than anyone had expected. The wire had proved not strong enough, the head teetering precariously on the aged and weakened cervical vertebrae.

She had, of course, called an immediate halt, and thankfully the mummy had been put back into place without any more damage. It had taken them an hour to stabilise the skull and other extremities, they had ended up using a combination of wire, boat rope, palm fronds, and surgical tape, forming a sort of cast around them mummy.

Another hour to get the remains through the crevice to the main cave, and yet another to get it set up on the table and carefully unwrapped, all the while checking to be sure that no particulates were being added to those naturally there.

Or not so naturally, she amended herself, her eyes straying to the amulet of poison.

It would be interesting to find out.

Now though, it was time for a break, the air conditioner was working on cooling the area, there was nothing she could do at the moment.

She looked up as the door to the tent unzipped, and a windswept brown head of hair peaked in.

"Hey Bones, ready for some lunch?"

"Kind of early for lunch Booth, but yes." She smiled, snapping off her gloves and reaching for the buttons of her lap coat, before freezing. "Booth, would you mind helping me?" She looked at him hopefully.

"With what?" He stepped into the tent. Of course he'd help her..

"I've just realised that there may be particulates on my lab coat, because of my close contact with it at one or two of the turns in the path, and.."

Booth grinned. Payback time.

"You want me to take off your lab coat so that it can be tested?" He suggested innocently.

She nodded and held her arms out to her sides. "Please?"

He stepped forward and pulled on a pair of gloves, hiding his smile, then turned and reached for the first button on the coat.

"I never realised how small these buttons are." He said, slowly undoing one, being overly careful, brushing his hands against her as his fingers slipped down to the next button.

Brennan swallowed and nodded. "Yes. Yes they are. Sometimes when I am very tired it is nearly impossible to get them undone."

Booth nodded, his eyes fixed firmly on his task, undoing each button and opening the coat a bit more each time, glimpsing what lay beneath.

Brennan shut her mouth and watched, the colour rising in her cheeks.

This was what she had hoped for, indeed planned for, but hadn't fully taken into account how it would affect her. She was certain her pulse was more rapid, though she couldn't check, and though Booth seemed to be taking it in stride, much as she had last Christmas when she had been forced to strip him down to his boxers.. Ok, maybe not forced.. She had rather enjoyed it.

Her eyes caught a brief twitch in his lips and she knew he was enjoying himself now, taking his time with the little buttons.

"Not much of a bathing suit, Bones." He remarked conversationally, now on his knees in front of her, the coat half undone.

Brennan bit her lip. What should she say here? Should she laugh and whisper that he hadn't even seen it all yet? Or was that too much out of character? Should she say nothing, maybe just giggle, like that girl in Maluku, the one in charge of mapping out the site?

Booth looked up at her face, and paused. "What are you thinking?"

She licked her lips nervously and gave a half shrug. "Wait till you see the bottom." She improvised.

He stared at her. "Of what?"

She narrowed her eyes in true Bones style. "My bathing suit."

"Oh." Booth nodded and went back to work on the buttons.

Finishing them he stood up and slipped the lab coat from her shoulders, holding it as she turned around and reached for a plastic bag to put it in.

His jaw dropped.

"Holy Mother of God." He whispered. "You've got ruffles on your .."

"Yes." Beamed Brennan, turning around with the bag in her hands. "Aren't they cute? The bottoms are a bit more miniscule than I would normally go for, but Angela assured me that the ruffles were 'super cute' and rather becoming, and as they are quite small, only the one row I felt I could handle it." She slid the lab coat into the bag and closed it, looking up into his face innocently. "Do you like it?"

"Like what?"

"My bathing suit!"

He raised an eyebrow. He'd had plenty of time for contemplation, and he'd decided that Brennan was behaving odd because she was hitting on him. He'd decided to give as good as she did.

He smiled wolfishly. "I don't know, turn around again."

Brennan smiled as she led the way out of the tent.

Another success!

Booth had definitely used his charm smile on her!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry the first post of this had all the quotations stolen by gremlins.. Having computer trouble so on a different machine and it's not liking me apparently! Thanks for the heads up mend!

CH

Angela waved them over to a shady spot on the beach where a table had been set up with lots of fruit, drinks, and sandwiches, along with some local food. Hey you two, lunch is on!

Brennan hurried over and reached for a glass of fresh coconut milk and sighed happily. "I love fresh food."

"As opposed to stale?" Cam cracked, smiling.

"Pre-packaged food is full of preservatives and additives"... Brennan began, before Booth cut her off by handing her a plate.

"Dish up Bones."

Hodgins hurried over from the Cave and gave Angela a hug before grabbing a plate for himself. "I've not found any entrance behind the spot where the mummy was yet, but I'm working on moving the rock he was on, Wendell is rigging up a method that I'm sure will work!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Not an explosion?" Cam asked in horror.

"No." Wendell replied as he came up the beach behind Hodgins. "Pulleys, like the Egyptians."

Angela breathed a sigh of relief, and seeing that Brennan now had a plate full, she took her by the elbow and directed her over to a pair of chairs that had been set up facing the shimmering blue ocean.

"So, dish." Angela whispered once they were seated.

"Pardon me?" Brennan looked at her plate quizzically.

"Oh come on." Angela rolled her eyes and made a slight motion with her hand towards Booth. "What's happening with you and Booth?"

"Booth is single."

"Yes I know.. But why has he gone from hang dog to hunter in the space of oh... four hours?" Angela persisted.

Brennan perked up noticeably. "He used his charm smile on me!"

"Sweetheart." Ange shook her head, "That wasn't a charm smile, that was a wolf smile if I ve ever seen one."

Brennan frowned. "On a scale of one to ten of smiles from a man one is sexually and emotionally interested in, where is a wolf smile as opposed to a charm smile?"

Angela thought for a moment, studying Booth discreetly. "From Booth? I would say a wolf smile was very good.. About an eight. Charm smile would range from 5 to 7 depending on the surroundings."

Brennan looked pleased. "And what s a 9 or 10?" She asked, mentally cataloguing the numbers so she could draw up a scale graph later in her tent.

Angela's eyes turned to Hodgins and she smiled. "Those are the ones with no name.. They are very rare, and wonderful, and sexy, and so full of love and tenderness and arousal that they speak more than words ever could."

They ate the rest of their lunch in silence, contemplating the highest ranking smile, while staring out at the oceans lapping waves, and the shimmering sun.

"Thank you Angela." Brennan said finally, picking up her empty plate from where she had put it on the sand. "I learn a lot from you, you know."

Angela looked at her with a smile, then looked down the beach at Booth. "I hope so!" Then she grinned wickedly. "And then I want details!"

Brennan smiled as she walked back over to the table to stack her plate with the others, and grab one last slice of melon. On the friends as sisters scale, Angela's smile had rated a definite eight.

Things were going great.

CH

Brennan stood up from her desk and streched with a happy sigh. The rest of the afternoon had been spent in peeling back the layers of clothing, trying to preserve as much as possible, taking careful notes of the way he was dressed and the contents of pockets as they found was a fascinating display of life as an eighteenth century pirate.. Would make an excellent paper in fact, and Hodgins ahd already agreed to co-author it. It would be the formost authority on behaviour modification had also continued to go well, and she had succeded in getting a few more wolf smiles from Booth over dinner.A long walk on the beach had been interesting, but not necessarily fruitfull, although he had held her hand for a minute or two, he had not pursued heror attempted to take advantage of the situation by kissing her, which made her quite after making her graphs and writing out her notes, she had to look at the results column and admit that it had in fact been a rather successful day, and that tomorrow she would no doubt accomplish more.  
She strolled over to her bed and climbed in, turning off the small coleman lamp beside it, throwing the room into noises grew louder in the darkness, and with the crashing of the waves and the whispering of the palm fronds above, she was soon lulled to sleep with a smile on her face...

He entered the tent, wrapping his arms around her, calling her name, his lips grazing her cheeks as they searched for her earlobes, his hot breath tickling her skin and raising goosebumps along her arms even as they wrapped around him, pulling him down onto the bed and her waiting body, her own lips calling his name and her tongue tasting the saltyness of his shoulder as he pulled back the blanket and fell into bed with moved slowly, she could feel every touch, hear every whisper, and her lips said his name over and over again, it was so good..She groaned and reached for him, but he was pulling away."No." She whispered, "Come back.." But he kept going, fading before her eyes into comabt gear, the outline of a soldier before vanishing completely into the night..

Her eyes flew open with a gasp, her hands clutching the blankets tightly as her chest heaved with silent sobs.A dream which had haunted her the entire seven months in Maluku, the dream she had hoped to extinguish foreverupon her return, but had continued to appear every night since.  
Her breathing returned to normal, but every fiber in her being hummed still, longing for him, needing rolled over and groaned into her pillow. How much longer would she have to wait?


	4. Chapter 4

CH.

The morning started off slowly, Brennan dressed in a little yellow polka dot bikini under a fresh labcoat, alone in the tent with the pirate mummy, absorbed in her work, always the early riser.. Slowly as the others woke up, the sounds of life filled the air, and Wendell appeared in the tent with her, silently taking up his own work alongside her, breaking the silence only to ask a question about an odd formation on a metacarpal.  
Pots clanged outside as the local woman they had hired to see to food set up a table and cooked some breakfast, her young children helping her, and the birds overhead calling each other, spreading word of a feast accumulating.  
Feet thudded past the tent, nearly silent, impossible to hear if you weren't listening for it, Booth, going for his morning jog, nothing like running barefoot in the sand and warm water to ease the aches in his feet he'd mentioned once when he was drunk, she wondered exactly how much of him was bare, maybe he'd look in on his way back..  
The tent opened again, and Hodgins breezed in, a flamboyant shirt peaking over the collar of his lab coat, he nodded at them and smiled and whisked the shards of clothing off to the corner of the tent where his computers were set up, whistling a cheerful tune.  
The sun lit the tent through the canvas ceiling and bathed everything in a dreamy glow, and she mused to herself as she examed the femurs carefully that this is what Maluku should have been like..  
Her friends, her peers, her collegues, her family, all around her, working as one, in a warm paradise.. It would have been bliss, not the hell she privately considered it to have been.  
Barely any findings, Daisy mopeing after Sweets, educated doctors far below her level of intellegence, capable enough, except when it came to understanding her, as these people did.  
How the dig would have been different if only these people had been there.  
But then she would not have learned the things she had, she reminded herself, she would not have learned to adapt and change.  
She looked up as the tent opened yet again, and smiled as Angela came through, bearing a tray full of coffee, and her sketch pad.  
"Morning Glory." Angela smiled, setting the tray down on a nearby table with notepads stacked on it.  
"Glourious morning." Hodgins teased.  
"Coffee is glory." Wendell corrected, reaching for a cup quickly.  
"Thank you Ange, you didn't have to do that." Brennan said softly, with a smile. She had noticed that acknowledging little things seemed to make people happy, and she very much wanted Angela, brimming with cheer though slightly green around the edges due to morning sickness, happy.  
Angela smiled happily and reached for her sketch pad. "You're welcome! I was hoping I might have a few minutes to make some cranial measurements, if now is a good time?"  
Brennan nodded and stepped away from the table, snapping off her gloves and picking up her coffee. "I'll take a break then, enjoy my coffee outside." She said brightly, her smile a trifle naughty, she would get to see Booth running along the shore..  
The sun outside was even brighter, glittering off the ocean, and blinding her almost, till she sheilded her eyes and sat down in the shade, resting on the sand.  
Booth had run west, so she sat facing that way, casually, taking in the sights.  
And soon there was a sight indeed, a bare chested Booth jogging in a relaxed fashion, clearly enjoying his morning run, his shorts hanging from his hips, his stripped off shirt hanging from the back of the waistband.  
His gaze was set to the sea, and for a few hundred feet he didn't notice her, till she waved, and then he picked up his pace and soon was sitting beside her.  
She brushed her hand over his shoulder causally, as she had often seen Angela do when she wanted to touch someone or establish a connection, and smiled at him with her eyes. "You're getting a tan."  
His eyes twinkled at her.  
"In that lab coat, YOU are Not!" He shook his head and leaned in close. "Maybe I should help you take it off."  
Brennan thought of the bikini she was wearing underneath and smirked, and took a sip of coffee, a soft chuckle her only response..

CH

After a short while, Brennan regretfully stood up and stretched. "I guess I should be getting back to work!" She smiled down at Booth, who was staring at the hemline of her lab coat.

"Ruffles again today?" He asked curiously.

"No." Brennan smirked, "Something a little more playfull."

"What could possibly be more playfull than ruffles?" He wondered, reaching for the edge of her lab coat.

She stepped away, laughing. "To quote you: That is for me to know, and you to find out."

Booth narrowed his eyes, remembering when he had said that, "Which you still havn't done."

"Says you." Brennan giggled, before slapping a hand across her mouth. She wasn't supposed to have said that!

Booth's eyes were wide. "Oh really? Well then Dr. Brennan, when do I get to see whats under that nice labcoat of yours?"

Her eyes turned serious. "How about tonight? We'll go for a midnight swim."

"You're going to wear your coat till then?" Booth raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Does Angela know what you're wearing?"

"No."

Booth looked doubtfull.

"She doesn't." Brennan insisted, watching Booth stand up and stretch beside her, so that he was towering over her, looking down into her eyes. "She helped me buy them, but I bought lots, different kinds."

He smirked. "Why'd you buy lots Bones, were you planning this? Me taking your coats off?" His voice was very low and sensual.

Brennan licked her lips nervously and looked away. "Not specifically."

"But?" Booth prodded.

"Well, the oppourtunity was there, and I was going to wear them anyways, and..." She stalled. She didn't really want to tell him of her progress or her charts yet.

Booth nodded, letting it drop. He stepped away, pulling his shirt back on, smiling at her gently. "So a midnight swim then?"

"Yes." Brennan smiled radiantly. "If you dare." She teased.

"Sweatheart, you don't know what you're getting into." Booth whispered, his eyes flicking over her again. Now that she'd basically admitted to wearing nothing but a bikini under her labcoats for the purpose of enticing him... Once midnight rolled around, all brakes were off..

Go Time, Baby...


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I apologise for the spelling errors, for some reason the doc won't save if I do spell check.. oh well..**

CH

Brennan stood in the moonlight at the edge of the surf, feeling the waves bubble over her toes, caressing her feet gently... The moon was large, its light making the white sand glow, the water sparkle, and her prescense known.

Even though it was night, there was nowhere to hide.

Which was good, she reminded herself, because she was done hiding.

She was done running, except litterally, which was good exercise.

She was ready.

A small noise alerted her that she was not alone, and she glanced over her shoulder, watching Booth make his way down the beach towards her.

Silently she began undoing the buttons of the coat, looking back at the ocean as she let it fall to the sand by her feet.

She heard his soft gasp as he saw the miniscule bikini, it's polka dots glowing softly, and she smiled, knowing he liked it.

She slowly started walking out into the surf, diving under the next crest, coming up from the waves like Aphrodite, facing him, her hand outreached.

"Are you coming?" She cajoled.

His eyes were raking her form hungrily, and he took slow steps out into the water, coming towards her.

"Bones, whats going on? Why now?" He whispered.

She tilted her head, watching the next wave catch him in the abdominals, splashing up to his clavicles, tiny droplets of salt water running back down his chest as the wave went out again. "I spent a lot of time thinking in Maluku." She said simply.

"And then I came back with a girlfriend." Booth replied ruefully.

"Did you love her?" Brennan asked, already knowing that he didn't.

Booth shook his head, no. "You can't give away a heart that already belongs to someone else." He said softly, drawing nearer.

"To whom does it belong?"

The were side by side, staring at each other, when he finally confessed. "You Bones..It's always been you."

Brennan smiled. "Then lets just forget everything that should have happened, and let it happen now.." She held out her arms. "It's good to see you Booth, I missed you while we were away, tell me about your trip to Iraq."

He grinned, and reached his arms around her, his hands sliding over her hips to rest on her back. "It's great to see you too Bones.. Iraq sucked, how was Maluku?"

Brennan sighed happily. "Dreadfull. It would have been much better if you were there."

"Oh?" Booth asked, his lips finding a sensitive spot on her throat. "Why's that?"

"Because then you would have been able to protect me from the guerillas and the snakes." She shuddered playfully, remembering her observation that she was only afraid of snakes when Booth was around to be leapt upon.

He chuckled, and she sobered, pressing her lips against his ear.. "And I realised that my love for you was too strong to pretend it didn't exist." She whispered.

A tremor ran through him, and when the next wave came crashing in, they didn't even notice, as they were clinging together, their mouths and bodys fused, and the rest of the world had ceased to exist..


	6. Chapter 6

CH...

The birds woke her, and she smiled... The strong arm across her chest was familiar, and Boothy... And he was sleeping next to her in her little bed..

Oh, she'd intended to make him wait, to hold out, to cement their new relationship status before taking that next step, it hadn't even been a week.. But who could blame her?

The scene had been perfect, and she had known, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was what she wanted.. No more running.. No more games.. Honesty. Them. Together...

They had made love in the waves, then the shower.. Her bed... All of it better than her wildest expectations..

So much had happened since that night..

The mummy had been stabilised, examing, and flown to the Jeffersonian where it would be on display.. His clothing and artifacts preserved.. The cave had yeilded it's secrets, a second stash of gold, as Booth had suggested, behind, or rather under, the seat on which the mummy had rested.  
The gold was being studied and dated, and DNA testing was even now being run, they had found his name in a small book in his pocket.. He had living decendants, through a brother, who had had an honourable job as a blacksmith..

Another family mystery closed, solved..

Another story for the books.. Another paper under her belt, though she would have to share credit with Hodgins, as he was co-author.

She twisted her head and looked at her sleeping bedmate, studying his face. He looked so peaceful asleep, she almost didn't want to wake him up.. The helecopter would be back for them at noon, and they had much to do before then..

Her bedside clock told her it was just 6AM, and she smiled and snuggled deeper into his arms.. There was time yet.

Everything took time..

They would need to readjust when they got home.. She would not be sleeping in the bed Hannah had vacated, he would need to explain things to Parker, but she knew it would work out.. Her bed was more than big enough for the two of them..

He stirred against her, and she bit her lip, feeling need wash over her.. At this moment... It was time for something else..

And she ran her hand down his chest and stomach, until his eyes popped open, and he reached for her, a growl in his throat and matching hunger in his eyes...

She'd never get used to how much she liked this..

THE END


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